the market was down on friday, but not the steep fall many have been predicting. could that happen this week? >> we're going to break away from this portion of this morning's "washington 12 suspension bills today. the real action taking place off the florida senate back in at 11:00 where we are monitoring the fiscal cliff negotiations and will bring you information as warranted. by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving god, we give you thanks for giving us near day. on this last day of 2012, forget not your people. there are many differences plaguing our nation's discourse . please send wisdom upon the leaders serving in government

and good will on all principles on current negotiations. we thank you for the service of so many who work in this building whose labor provides the lubrication for the very public actions of the members of this assembly. though each deserves special mention, bless especially this day, jay pierson, who works his last day of 34 years of faithful service on the floor of the house. may all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from new york, mr. higgins. mr. higgins: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it

stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: and to revise and extend my remarks. madam speaker, at midnight tonight, our nation is scheduled to fall off the fiscal cliff because the augusta chronicle editorial of december 2 is correct. quote, it's that stubborn adherence to big spending that is powering the momentum toward the fiscal cliff. halting base spending is what's going to stop it. end of editorial. over the past year, house republicans have passed effective bipartisan legislation to prevent the entire fiscal cliff. unfortunately, these bills remain stalled in the senate graveyard.

this fact makes it very clear that house republicans have addressed this issue and speaker john boehner is holding firm for fiscal responsibility. with only a few hours to go, it's my hope that the senate will accept one of our proposals and send legislation back to the house that will attempt to tackle out-of-control spending, extend tax cuts for all americans and preventing the devastating defense cuts before it's too late and hundreds of thousands of jobs are destroyed. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. congratulations, jay pierson, for your years of service. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> good morning, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kucinich: the question settling over this capital as we face the fiscal cliff, how could this be happening? it's hyperpartisanship meets citizens united. americans' politics are so saturated with money that we

can't meet our obligations. it's working for pentagon contractors, for oil companies, for coal companies. it's for those who want to hold down wages and suppress the rights of workers. it's working for the drug companies who sweet our deal on the prescription drugs and blew the hole in the medicare budget. this masks the reality that the fax resources of government increasingly are going to the highest bidders and a $4 billion national election. the debris at the bottom of the fiscal cliff will be the hopes of doctors of medicare patients, unemployed workers, middle class taxpayers who can't pay any more. our nation pose that the fiscal cliff is proof of the necessity of a constitutional amendment. h.j.res. 100, to rid this nation of the corrupting influence of special interest money with public financing which re-creates a true government of the people. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the

gentleman from texas rise? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. olson: madam speaker, i want to give the american people seven facts about our fiscal crisis. fact number one, we have a $16 trillion national debt. it's expected to go up over $22 trillion before president obama leaves office. fact number two, washington's problem is not revenue. it's uncontrolled spending. fact number three, in less than 14 hours, automatic tax hikes will give washington more money to spend. fact number four, the nonpartisan congressional

budget office says these automatic tax hikes threaten to put us back into another recession. fact number five, the house has done its job to avoid this crisis by passing a bipartisan bill to stop the tax hikes. fact number six, the senate, with the president's approval, has refused to take up this bill. and fact number seven, we've done our job in the house. it's time for the senate to do their job before the clock strikes midnight. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. higgins: mr. speaker, at midnight tonight the budget control act of 2011 and sequestration will trigger spending cuts of $1.2 trillion over 10 years, including $109 billion in 2013.

the $8.24 billion in domestic spending cuts, funding the national cancer institute that supports clinical trials for new cancer treatment. if you're a patient at roswell park cancer treatment in buffalo and you're diagnosed with late-stage cancer, you don't have the luxury of time that these cuts demand. that's what sequestration means to cancer patients in buffalo and throughout the nation. the $55 billion cut in defense spending, what does it mean to my community in buffalo, new york. a leader in motion control technology, with a thriving defense unit, a $2.5 billion company that employs 8,400 people, takes a major hit. that's

>> i encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to spend last time and instead pass a -- family, seniors, and small business owners. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired, for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida rise? without objection. ms. wilson: today is new year's eve. while we debate going over the fiscal cliff, there are some people in america planning to shoot their guns in celebration at midnight. put down those guns. millions of people have died or been injured due to this custom.

put down those guns. if i were in my district of miami today, i would be participating in a press conference that we started 10 years ago calling an end to this deadly custom. as a result, celebratory gunfire has largely disappeared from our county. it is a result of repeated demands and media events over and over again. now people get it. remember, what goes up must come down. bullets are no exception. instead, hug your kids. light a canledle, resolve to sell your gun in the next community gun buy back initiative. say a prayer for all of the precious children who lost their lives to gun violence in our nation, especially those babies we lost most recently in connecticut. put down those guns. don't even think about it because one bullet, just one bullet will kill the party. please, america, put down those guns.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from the virgin islands rise? mrs. christensen: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. christensen: thank you. it will be very hard to wish the american people happy new year unless this congress reaches and passes an agreement that keeps tankses from going up on the 98% who already have had to sacrifice during the recession, that extends unemployment, enables doctors to continue to care for their medicare beneficiaries, fixes the a.m.t., provides disaster recovery money to help our fellow americans, and passes a farm bill. democrats agreed last year to $1.5 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years, which are already in place. president obama offered several concessions. now republicans need to give up at least an equal amount on the revenue side. right now, definitely early in 2013, my constituents in the virgin islands need relief from the highest energy cost in the country and a fair medicaid match so everyone can have access to quality health care. whatever partisan differences we have and the republicans have with our president, let's set

them aside in this difficult year comes to a close an work together to give our constituents a happy new year. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? without objection. ms. johnson: madam speaker, i rise today to implore the house g.o.p. leadership to address the looming fiscal cliff. we have only a few hours left and we owe it to the american people to find a solution. pass legislation and send it to the president for his signature tonight. there's too much at stake to let this critical situation devolve into the same politics as usual. that we have seen throughout this congress. the consequences of failure inaction are dire. according to the congressional budget office, going over the cliff would raise unemployment rate from 7.9 to 9.1% in 2013.

we would also see devastating cuts to programs that pay for education, food inspection, and air travel safety. nearly $55 billion. madam speaker, there is no more time and the american people are depending on us for a solution to avoid this fiscal cliff. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from la rise? -- from louisiana rise? without objection. >> here we are on new year's eve, working to avoid this latest fiscal cliff. of course, if you wonder why we are here, just look at the fact that we shouldn't have to be here. back on august 1, this house with a bipartisan vote, passed the bill that would have avoided this fiscal cliff. it would have protected every american family from seeing a tax increase. mr. scalise: the bill passed on august 1 and it's been sitting over in the senate every day since then.

here we are new year's eve and the senate's finally rolling up their sleeves and working to avoid this crisis. here we are in another crisis and unfortunately as we look towards this new year tomorrow, this is not the last time that we may be here. we passed a budget here in the house months ago. it's been more than three years since the senate passed a budget. yet months from now we'll be hearing now cliff approaching of a government shutdown because the senate hasn't passed a budget. it's time for the senate to start doing their work and stop creating these crises and forcing american families to wonder what's going to happen next and what's going to be the next crisis. we should not have any american family facing a tax increase. let's get the economy back on track. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky rise? mr. yarmuth: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. yarmuth: madam speaker, the american people are looking at congress with disdain and rightfully so. we failed to reach a reasonable compromise to move the economy

forward and ward of painful tax hikes on the middle class. the americans have sent us a clear message what they want. a fair tax system and economy works for everyone and strong social safety net. these are classic american values and throughout our history members of both parties have made compromises in order to protect them. those compromises reflect not just the will of the people but the way normal people do business. every day of their lives american workers solve problems and collaborate with their co-workers to meet objectives. they don't get to wait until after the deadline passes to get the job done. if they do, they lose their jobs. the american people can't just go home if he they don't get their way. yet that's exactly what house republican leadership did earlier this month. i hope it's not what they plan to do again this week. madam speaker, if my colleagues don't wake up and respond to what the american people want, they will be the ones to ultimately lose their jobs and rightfully so. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from hawaii rise? without objection.

ms. hanabusa: madam speaker, when chairman bernanke first coined the phase the fiscal cliff he was describing the perfect storm. the fiscal cliff is not only sequestration, the impact of the budget control act, but also includes not limited to the expiration of the bush tax cuts, the unemployment insurance, the s.g.r., the a.m.t. patch, the debt limit, other tax provisions . ergo, the perfect storm. major issues that this republican controlled house will not address until the wealthy are protected. we must address a sufficient number of these provisions to avert the perfect storm. to do so we must work to building the public confidence so we can continue, continue steady growth in the economy and jobs. the true way to avert the cliff. this is why we must do what is best for the middle and working class first. extend the bush tax for the middle class,, tend unemployment insurance, s.g.r., a.m.t. patch,

delay the sequestration. those items which we can all agree upon. we've got to get to work. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? without objection. >> thank you, madam speaker. here we are on the last day of the calendar year 2012. with an impending fiscal cliff challenging all of us. the women and men who serve in this great body have expressed great differences but those differences ought not divide us. they should build us with the best consensus, we need a bold and balanced approach to this fiscal cliff. mr. tonko: we need to make certain that the 33 consecutive months of private sector job growth are not disrupted. we need to make certain that the unemployment rate does not rise as the c.b.o., congressional budget office suggests, to 9.1%.

we need to avoid taxes growing by $,200 for an average family of four in 2013. -- $2,200 for an average family of four in 2013. it is important for us to go forward and take the initiative and avoid the consequences of that fiscal cliff. i'm concerned because fema as an example would be cut by some $878 million. having witnessed the destruction in my district, we can ill afford that. cuts to nutrition programs, cuts to medicare. i implore our leadership in this house to bring a bold and balanced approach to solve our fiscal cliff crisis here today. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? without objection. ms. hahn: madam speaker, tonight in time's square, hundreds of thousands of people will be there at midnight to watch that ball drop.

but here in congress we have also dropped the ball. we are in the final days of the 112th congress and no one expected us to be here on the house floor on new year's eve, but here we are racing towards that fiscal cliff, towards higher taxes on the middle class, on slashed investment for the american people, including nutrition for mothers and infants, education for our children, and our infrastructure. what part of the cliff sounds like a good plan? i know i'm not the only one who spent time with families that it will hurt. i know i'm not the only one who has visited the businesses worried that our country could have another recession. we should not be playing this game of chicken. there is too much at stake to have politics as usual. we have an opportunity to prevent the fiscal cliff, but in order to do so we must act as a unified congress. so i say to all my friends and colleagues, democrats and republicans, let's get this thing done. tonight when that ball drops, let's make sure that we haven't

also dropped the ball. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from new york rise? without objection. mrs. maloney: madam speaker, it has been nine weeks since superstorm sandy swept across the east coast. 24 u.s. states were in some way affected by sandy. the storm killed at least 131 people in eight states. hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. the unprecedented disaster caused billions of dollars in loss and economic disruption. just two weeks after hurricane katrina hit the gulf coast, this congress approved more than $62 billion in federal aid to help the devastated area get back on its feet.

after hurricanes ike and gustav hit in 2008, a supplemental proacheses bill passed this congress overwhelmingly. all of these aid packages were approved by strong bipartisan majorities in both chambers. the results were obvious and the speed imperative. we need to pass it. nothing has changed. that is what we did for others. that's what we need to do to help this devastated area. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from ohio rise? ms. kaptur: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. kaptur: thank you. madam speaker, my hope is that tonight we will do what is right for the republic and pass a responsible measure dealing with spending and our debt. but there's another cliff tonight at midnight that should

concern millions of homeowners who have forgone their mortgage foreclosure reviews. they have a deadline of midnight tonight as reported by "usa today" yesterday on the front page of business section. it's important to millions of americans who literally could receive up to $100,000 in compensation because of mistakes that were made by servicers in the processing of those loans. so i would like to tell people who might have had foreclosures facing their families in 2009 and 2010, they can call 888-95 -9105 or go to the website, independent foreclosure review.com and the office of comptroller of the currency will help them review those mortgage foreclosures. far too many americans, millions, millions have received these notices but only 300,000 have replied.

millions of people could have those mortgages reviewed and perhaps receive compensation and hang on to their houses. madam speaker, again that phone number is 888-952-9105. let's help the millions 67 americans who have been harmed with their mortgages by irresponsible servicers. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? mr. connolly: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. connolly: madam speaker, the start of a new year is supposed to be a joyous occasion. it's time to reflect on the past year, take pride in our accomplishments, and learn from our stumbles. there is a novel thought. similarly the start of a new congress offers an opportunity to look forward with hope and aspiration with the opportunity to work together. again, a novel thought. to deliver on behalf of those who put their trust in us. let's not pull the rug out from

both those things before they have even had a chance to begin. the start of the new year, new congress, do not have to be colored by the partisanship that's characterized the past year. there is a last-minute absolution to be had if we can seize the spirit of the season and do that which would then all too little of this past year, compromise. come together. let's ring in the new year with a fix. all be it a modest one, for the fiscal cliff and start off our new year and new congress with a proper welcome for our constituents and our colleagues. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? without objection. >> madam speaker, many years ago our friends on the conservative side of the political aisle told us that if we cut taxes for the wealthiest among us, they would

get more money which they would use to invest in plant and equipment and then all the rest of us working class, middle class folks, would benefit by rich people having more money because then they would hire us and we would have a stronger economy. mr. ellison: he they put this plan into implementation in 2001 and 2003. it was by far the most anemic decade we have seen in many, many decades. . if you contrast it to the 1990's, we had a better economy. when president clinton handed president bush the reins to the government, he handed him also a surplus. the fact is the conservative experiment, based on the ideas of a guy named arthur, and others, have failed. they don't work. they're wrong for this country and it's time for us to have

some balance and to pay the bills of this country and that means -- that means taxes. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? mr. pallone: to address the house for one minute, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. pallone: madam speaker, if we fail to act in the remaining day of the 112th congress, this congress will be one that will be remembered to ignore the will of the people. if we fail to act, a family of four will see its taxes rise by $2,200 started in 2013. this means less money to buy groceries, gas and fay the bills. according to the non-- and pay the bills. according to the congressional budget office, going over the cliff will raise the unemployment rate from 7.9% to 9.1% in 2013. now, losing that many jobs will plunge our nation back into a recession and putting economic recovery further out of reach. we will put the jobs out.

it's time to put an end to the era of trying to balance budgets on the backs of the middle class and it's time we take steps to avoid setting our economic recovery up for failure. we all want a better resolution than simply jumping off the fiscal cliff. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. all time for one-minute speeches has expired. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> thank you, madam speaker. i would move to suspend the rules and pass senate bill 3453, the intelligence authorization act, for floor 2013. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3454, an act

to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the united states government and the office of the director of national intelligence, the central intelligence agency retirement and disability system and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. rogers, and the gentleman from maryland, mr. ruppersberger, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. rogers: thank you, madam speaker. i appreciate the opportunity to be here on new year's eve day. i first wish to announce the classified annex to the bill under consideration for the members of the house. this is to reinforce the previous announcement i made to members last evening. madam speaker, the classified schedule of authorizations and the classified annex accompanying the bill remain available for review by members at the offices of the permanent select committee on intelligence room hbc-304 of the capitol visitor center.

the committee office will be open during regular business hours for the convenience of any member who wishes to review this material prior to its consideration by the house. i recommend members wishing to review the classified annex contact the committee's director of security to arrange a time and date for that viewing. this will assure the availability of committee sfaff to assist members who -- staff to assist members who review these classified documents. madam speaker, i am pleased that the house is considering this intelligence authorization bill today, the last day of the year. if passed and enacted this will be our third intelligence authorization bill since i assumed the chairmanship and my friend, mr. ruppersberger, became the ranking member of the house intelligence committee. in may the house passed by a vote of 386-28 an intelligence authorization bill which is very similar and the same

product of the bill that is before us today. i appreciate the ranking member's hard work on this bill this year and that of our colleagues in the senate to achieve a bipartisan result between the two chambers. this is indeed a rare occurrence in this town these days, but this is truly a bipartisan, bicameral product that moves forward when it comes to protecting the united states and putting us in the best national security posture we could imagine. the intelligence authorization bill is vital to ensuring that our intelligence agencies have the resources and authority they need to do their important work. community play a critical role on the war on terrorism and securing the country from many threats that we face. the annual authorization bill, which funds u.s. intelligence activities spanning 17 agencies, is a vital tool for congressional oversight of the intelligence community's classified activities. effective an aggressive congressional oversight is essential to ensuring the continued success of our

intelligence community and therefore the safety of all citizens of the united states. the current challenging fiscal environment demands the accountability and financial oversight of our classified intelligence programs that can only come with an intelligence authorization bill. the f.y. 2013 bill contains our current intelligence capabilities, provides for the development of future capabilities all while achieving significant savings and ensuring intelligence agencies are being good stewards of our taxpayers' money. this year the bill is significantly below last year's enacted budget but up modestly from the president's roughly $72 billion budget request for fiscal year 2013. it is also in line with the house budget resolution which provides for a modest increase of defense activities above the president's budget. the bill's comprehensive classified annex provides detailed guidance on intelligence spention, including adjustments to costly but important programs.

the bill requires funds requirements for the men and women of the intelligence community, both military and civilian, many of whom directly support the war zones and engage in our dangerous operations designed to keep americans safe. it provides oversight and authorization for vital intelligence activities, including the global counter war on terrorism, effects by the national security agency to defend us from the advanced foreign state-sponsored cyberthreats, and i can't tell you enough, maments, how in this chamber we have acted to stand up in the face of a growing cyberthreat, not only to government networks but to private networks swrl. we have in a bipartisan way -- networks as well. we have in a bipartisan way given the first steps of how we stand up our defenses in the united states to protect our country from nation states like china and russia and now iran who seek to do us harm by using

the internet. we will again aggressively pursue next year, with the help of my ranking member, actions needed, i believe, to protect the united states against what is the largest threat we face that we are not prepared to handle and that is the growing threat of cyberattack and cyberespionage. countering the profe live ration of weapons of mass destruction -- proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is an important part of our national security and we made sure that weapons and tests, research and development of new technology to maintain our intelligence agencies' technologically edge, and like the house-passed bill, this bill operates efficiencies in a number of areas, including information technology. satellite data and the procurement and operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms. the bill holds personnel levels, one of the first and largest biggest cost drivers, generally at last year's

levels. even so the bill adds a limited number of new personnel positions with select higher priority efforts, such as the f.b.i. surveillance officers to keep watch on terrorists and personnel for certain other programs that will increase cooperation and training with our foreign partners and the critical porcht role for our intelligence -- important role for our intelligence agencies as we move to protect ourselves from threats all around the world. the bill authorizes increased funding for intelligence collection programs including increased counterintelligence to thwart foreign spies. and the cutting edge research and development. this is an incredibly important investment for the united states if we are going to continue to lead in the ability to detect before they can do harm to the united states, we have to make the investment in research and development of high-end technological advancement. while i cannot get into the

specifics of a lot of these programs, it's important to mention them as we are taking -- we are going through the process each year in conducting oversight of intelligence activities and making funding recommendationes that will help the community meet its mission in the most effective, fiscally responsible way. fiscal year 2013 intelligence authorization bill we are considering today preserves and advances national security and is also fiscally responsible. the secrecy that is necessary part of this country's intelligence work requires that the congressional intelligence committees conducts strong and effective oversight on behalf of the american people and even our colleagues here in the house. that strong and effective oversight is impossible, however, without the advancement of these bills. i want to thank all of the members of the committee for their bipartisan effort to find agreement on a bill that saves money and moves forward on protecting the interest of national security of the united

states. i want to thank both of the staffs for working together to produce this bill. this truly is a collaborative effort both from staff and members in this chamber and in the senate proving that you can work in a bipartisan way to accomplish the best interests of the united states and this case particularly when it comes to national security. on a final note, i want to congratulate mrs. myrick on her years of great service to the intelligence committee. she'll be leaving us this year. this will be her last authorization bill that she'll participate in. pleased to see provisions she championed in may concerning the protection of the united states information technology supply chain is included in this bill. she has done great work on her time in the committee and she certainly will be missed. she's been a true champion of the national security interests of this country. she is a great friend of mine. i wish her well in her new endeavors. and i think all who participated -- i also want to

take this opportunity to take my chief counsel for celebrating his birthday today on the house floor on new year's eve day. i appreciate that very much. with that i would reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. ruppersberger -- mr. ruppersberger: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ruppersberger: this bill is a good bipartisan bill that gives intelligence professionals the resources, capabilities and authorities they need to keep us safe. i also want to acknowledge the pleerp of chairman rogers, his -- leadership of chairman rogers, his staff and i want to acknowledge the staff on both sides of the aisle that worked very closely to put this bill together. when chairman rogers and i took over the leadership of the intelligence committee, we made a commitment to bipartisanship. we believed politics has no place in national security. the stakes are just too high.

we also made a commitment to passing intelligence budgets to provide oversight to the intelligence community and give it an important financial direction. chairman rogers and i worked closely with chairwoman dianne feinstein and saxby chambliss, our counterparts in the senate, so we can get things done. if this bill becomes law, it will be the third budget bill in a row passed since we took over leadership in january, 2011, a big change from the previous six years when we only passed one budget bill. this was an open bipartisan process where we reached agreement on issues that will make this country safer and intelligence processes more efficient. we know we're facing tough economic times. this budget is slightly below the enacted levels of f.y. 2012. we made cuts where appropriate, eliminated redundancies and push programs to come in on time and on budget. people ask me what keeps me up at night?

besides spicy food, i say weapons of mass destruction and a catastrophic cyberattack that shuts down our banking systems, water supplies, power grids or worse. this bill continues a substantial investment in cybersecurity that must be made to keep up with the cyberthreats of today and tomorrow. we also believe we must protect privacy and civil liberties when it comes to cybersecurity. another priority is space. the bill promotes the commercial space industry by enhancing the government's use of commercial imagery and commercial communication services. it requires the government to use commercial imagery to the extent practicable. we need to make sure we have high quality products while keeping costs down. it provides an insurance policy in case there are problems with other programs. and it does create jobs. the bill expanded our counterterrorism efforts, continue the fight against al qaeda and its affiliates around the world. the bill makes counterintelligence a priority it is. it makes strategic additions

across the intelligence communalt. this will pay for surveillance, better supply chain security and the counterintelligence analysts we need. it provided money to the global cover initiatives to ensure the united states is capable and ready to address threats from any location around the world and especially in areas of strategic interest. it authorizes the department of defense's new defense service to re-organize the human intelligence program. the bill direct -- the director of national intelligence to develop a centralized cloud for the entire tedgets community, advancing collaboration and further promoting efficiency. and it required the president to develop a strategy for security clearance reciprocity and a report on how to better protect our information technology across the global supply chain. i urge my colleagues to support intelligence authorization act for 2012. when this bill was before the house in may, it passed by a

bipartisan margin of 386-28. it's a good bipartisan bill that gives our intelligence professionals what they need to do their jobs and protect our flakes. thank you, madam speaker -- protect our nation. thank you, madam speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. rogers: madam speaker, i would inquire if the minority side has a list of speakers. mr. ruppersberger: at this time we have one speaker. if we don't have more we'll move on. mr. rogers: i'll continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. ruppersberger: i have yield to the gentleman from ohio, dennis kucinich. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for two minutes. mr. kucinich: i thank my friend and i want to thank both my friends, the chair and the ranking member, for the work that they do on intelligence.

you make a commitment to this country, and i think the country's in good hands because of your work. but i want to raise a question and we've had some of these conversations between ourselves . i'm very concerned about the shift that's occurred in our national security policy where the central intelligence agency has increasingly played a very powerful paramilitary role with the execution of drone strikes. numerous studies have indicated that there are many innocent civilians being killed by drone strikes. there is lack of accountability here. there have been studies that suggest, for example, in yemen, that drone strikes are stirring up anti-american sentiment to the point where al qaeda is being empowered. we really have to ask of the

c.i.a., but even more than that, of our entire national security infrastructure what's the game plan here. we see there have been changes in military policy where certain functions have been ceded to the c.i.a. we see that the changes in foreign policy where the state department has let go of some of its functions. we know that the military's made an attempt to try to become more actively involved as a separate organization. they were seeking 1,600 new spies. we have this architecture of national security which is so powerful, but i'm not sure that it's actually that effective. and i don't question the effectiveness of our chair or our ranking member, but i do question the effectiveness of what we're doing.

can i ask one more minute? mr. ruppersberger: one more minute. mr. kucinich: i do question the effectiveness of this drone program, its adherence to international law or lack thereof, the intel gathering on targeted killings where we've seen reports of efforts of one group to target individuals in other groups as a way of trying to settle some scores between people so they put them up as a potential terrorist and they get marked on a list and get executed. as i mentioned earlier, the concern about civilian deaths. i think that the central intelligence agency functions best in gathering intelligence, and we ought to support them in that regard. i was very concerned and expressed on this floor about what happened in benghazi. if we paid more attention to the c.i.a. we probably would

still have some of our officials alive but that's gone. it's over. but we have to recognize that putting the c.i.a. more and more in a paramilitary position is not in the best interest of this country, i don't believe. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan. . mr. rogers: i yield myself such time as i may consume. thank you very much. the gentleman and i have had these conversations and i respect his position greatly and the work he does in congress. i have some disagreements. i tell you why, and i hope that the gentleman will consider voting for this bill today. the amount of oversight that the ranking member and i have increased on programs that may have -- that may have concerns on behalf of americans, because we have the same concerns, there are tools that america nages in, including air strikes. air strikes have been something that we have used since we could figure out how to get something off the ground and throw something at the ground.

they have been used as a tool. it's not a pol sift united states, it's a tool of the united states to make america safe -- policy of the united states, it's a tool of the united states to make america safe. if there is any air strike conducted that involves an enemy combatant of the united states outside the theater of direct combat, it gets reviewed by this committee. and i am talking about every single one. that's an important thing. and there are very strict reviews put on all of this material. there are he very strict guidelines about how these air strikes may or may not occur. because we have that same feeling. if people lose faith in our ability, of our intelligence services to do their work, then they will be ineffective and therefore we will be less safe. our argument has been we want that oversight. we want aggressive oversight. we want thorough review. and i request tell you, and i think you would be proud of the

very work that we do on the committee to that end. we never really did covert action reviews except for sporadically. now we do regularly, quarterly, and monthly covert action reviews on this committee. to make sure we get it right. they get it right. mr. kucinich: would my friend yield? mr. rogers: i would be honored to yield to my friend from ohio. mr. kucinich: i have no question about the commitment of the chair and ranking member to proper oversight. but what i do question is that the proliferation of the drone strikes puts such an extraordinary burden on our own oversight capacities. and i'm wondering looking retrospectively at the number of civilian casualties that have occurred, the oversight -- there is a decoupling of the oversight

capacity from the consequences of the strikes. and that's the point that i'm making here. and i would ask going forward, i would ask my friend for the committee to be ever more vigilant on -- if you are for these strikes and you are conducting the oversight, look at the consequences of civilian casualties to raise questions about the information that's been given you. that's the point that i'm making. i want to thank my friend for yielding. mr. rogers: i appreciate that. reclaiming my time. i think this is very important. again, i personally review and the committee reviews that material comes to this committee. there are many in the world who have political agendas about civilian casualties. i can tell you, rest assured, that is a point of review for any activity, any activity that

our intelligence community may or may not engage in. i think that you would be shocked and stunned how wrong those public reports are about civilian casualties. every one of these events are reviewed if there is an air strike used as a technique anywhere in the world to keep america safe, it is he reviewed if it comes within the purview of the intelligence community, both military and civilian, on this committee. they are not just wrong, they are wildly wrong, and i do believe people use those reports for their own political purposes outside of the country to try to put pressure on the united states. mr. kucinich: if i may. for 15 seconds. mr. rogers: for 30 seconds. mr. kucinich: what i would like to do, mr. chairman, is present

to you and the ranking member reports that have been forwarded to me regarding these casualties, and maybe these are reports you have seen and maybe they aren't. i certainly think that in the interest of acquiting our country's efforts that we make sure that every effort is made to avoid civilian casualties. i will present those to you and the ranking member in the next few days. i want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. thank you. mr. rogers: i just want to assure the gentleman every one of these is reviewed. and rest assured the public reports about civilian casualties are not just a little bit wrong, they are wildly wrong . with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. ruppersberger: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rupets: i do want to acknowledge -- mr. ruppersberger: i do want to acknowledge the work that's been done by dennis kucinich as a member of congress. dennis and i philosophically don't agree, but i respect he has a good point of view.

that's the whole process here in congress that we have different points of view and come together, debate, and make decisions. dennis, we are going to miss you. good luck with you and your family in the future. i'm glad one of the last things you are going to do is talking about our bill today. just acknowledge what the chairman said also. there is an aggressive legal process that is undertaken as far as droughns are concerned. going to the highest levels of our government before strikes are taken. everything i have reviewed, if there are children or innocent victims there that the strike does not take place. there is a process. unfortunately there are some casualties. i would agree with the chairman also. as far as this is concerned and what you read in the media is usually not what the facts are. it is part of what we do. why we have the intelligence committee. we have it because there is classified information that if it got out would hurt the national security of our country. so it's part of our role and committee's role to take this

classified information, work with the agencies we provide oversight. we will continue to work through that process. mr. kucinich, i'm glad you did raise that as an issue as we all should. reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. rogers: i reserve the balance of my time. for the purposes of closing debate. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland. mr. ruppersberger: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ruppersberger: for the third time in three years, chairman rogers and i have stood on the floor of the house encouraging our colleagues to support our intelligence budget bill. today we both rise in support of the intelligence authorization act for fiscal year 2013. the bill gives our intelligence professionals, resources, capability they need to protect america and interests. we crafted a bill that address our core needs including space, cybersecurity, counterintelligence, and counterterrorism.

we also are keeping an eye on the bottom line. the bill is slightly below last year's budget and holds personnel at last year's levels. the intelligence committee came together as democrats and republicans to do what is right for our country and for the intelligence community. in a very strong bipartisan way. i would also like to thank the staff again for what they have done and for his leadership and providing -- helping provide this bill in a very fair, bipartisan way. i urge my colleagues to support the intelligence re-authorization act for f.y. 2013. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. before i do that, i would also like to acknowledge two democratic members who will be leaving us at the end of the session. congressman dan boren of oklahoma and congressman ben chandler of kentucky. both members will be greatly missed and i appreciate their service on the intelligence committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan. mr. rogers: could i inquire how much time remains? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan has 5 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. rogers: i would yield myself

as much time as i might consume. again, i want to thank my ranking member, both staffs in the intelligence committee, for the long hours, hard work, and thorough detailed work on the budgets and the classified annex of this report. it will allow us, and i think it should, alleviate many of the concerns of -- good concerns of mr. kucinich and others who are concerned about these activities. and again i think it's important to reiterate that we have the same concerns. which is why we are so thorough and why we have joined together in a bipartisan way to increase the level of congressional oversight, to increase our impact and influence on the policies of the intelligence community, to make sure it conforms with what this body and what i think the united states of america want and needs in its intelligence services. we have now done, as i said before, regular scheduled covert action, which i think should

rest assured that it is serious, thoughtful, and thorough oversight. counterintelligence activities. we now have regularly scheduled oversight. every department required to proffer its budget requests and we go over line by line, dollar by dollar, policy by policy to make sure it conforms with the concerns of this body. everyone in this body. and their concerns. because as i said before these are very brave americans serving in really tough neighborhoods all over the world. trying to collect information, trying to take actionable intelligence to a point this it protects us from harm here at home. and they deserve our respect and our encouragement and our high five and pat on the back when they come home. so they want thorough oversight. you wouldn't believe it, but they do. they want to know that the work that they are doing would make america proud for them risking

their lives and being away from their families and putting it all on the line to keep america safe. that's why we agreed to do this in a bipartisan way and be so thorough in its congressional oversight. because without that, without that confidence, without that faith of the american people that they are doing something on behalf of this great nation, they will lose their ability to do what they do, and they will lose the courage and confidence that they need to do it in the right way. so that's what this bill reflects. again, i understand your concern, but i look forward to our further conversations with this. and further conversations i'd like to have the opportunity, if we can arrange this, to give you some examples, peek behind the curtain on exactly what goes through the process of making sure that we keep people safe, good people safe, and bad guys are brought to justice. i think you would be proud of that work. this bill reflects that. again thanks to the ranking member and the staff and members on both sides of this committee. thanks to the -- senator

feinstein and senator saxby chambliss for their help in putting this bill together. i hope we'll get a large show of support for the men and women who are serving in our intelligence posts all around the world today, with a strong vote of bipartisanship, send this to the president so we can go about the business of keeping america safe and maybe even look at some other details that the speaker may have interest in dealing with today. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 3454, those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the gentleman from michigan. mr. rogers: madam speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. the gentleman from michigan. mr. rogers: madam speaker, i ask

unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill before us today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. johnson: i move to -- >> i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6612, to pass the neil armstrong flight research center and the western aeronautical test range as the hugh l. dryden test range. the clerk: h.r. 661, the bill to redesignate the dryden flight research center as the neil a. armstrong flight research center and the western arrest nautical test range as the hugh l. dryden aeronautical test range. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. hall, and the gentlewoman from maryland, ms. edwards, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include

extraneous material on h.r. 6612, the bill now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hall: i want to begin by thanking, as i should, the members for their bipartisan support of the legislation. h.r. 6612 would redesignate the national aeronautics and space administration's dryden flight research center, which is co-located with the edwards air force base in california as the neil a. armstrong flight research center. this bill would also rename the western aeronautical west test range as the hugh l. dryden aeronautical test range. this is very appropriate. they were very dear friends. . neil armstrong needs no

introduction. this bill was introduced by his congressman, kevin mccarthy, the congressman where the building will take place. he's the majority whip, the gentleman from california. but neil armstrong absolutely needs no introduction. he's an iconic american hero and one of the most humble men i have ever met. he was quiet, thoughtful, and deliberate, choosing his words carefully whether testifying before a congressional committee, giving a speech or sharing a quiet moment with a friend he did not exaggerate and always, always gave recognition to the teams of engineers, and scientists at nasa when speaking about the success of the apollo 11 mission he refused to take personal credit for his accomplishments. after leaving nasa, he soon found himself as nasa's high

speed flight station located at edwards which would in time become the dryden flight research center. he spent seven years there, flying a variety of new design aircraft including seven flights at the control of the x-15. sneel a good friend and he's sorely missed by me and by all the people who touched in his long and active life. he's survived by his wife, carol, two sons, a stepdaughter, a stepson, and 10 grandchildren. this bill also names the western err nautical test range as the -- after hugh l. dryden. he held the post -- he was deputy director of nasa until his death in 1965. he did research into the speed

of sound. his work contributed to the design of wings for aircraft including the p-51 mustang and other world war ii aircraft. before i close, i want to tell something that was interesting. president clinton, i think it was on the 25th anniversary, invited neil to speak, knowing he probably wouldn't speak because he indicate head would not but he left the empty chair for him on the stage. as we got through the ceremony, neil walked in. and the president, good natured said, i said you wouldn't speak, but here's the microphone. he took the microphone and said, the parrot is oh the only bird that can fly and speak and i can do the same. he sat down and brought the house down. i urge members to support this bill and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from maryland. ms. edwards: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlewoman is recognized. ms. edwards: all americans can recite the famous words uttered by neil armstrong as he walked on the moon. "that's one small step for man, one giant leap for man kind." in an effort to recognize that great man, h.r. 6612 will redesignate the dryden flight research center as the neil arm armstrong flight research center and will rename the western err nautical test range as the hugh l. dryden err nautical test range. while i plan to support it, this is a bill that's unfortunate because it honors one aerospace pioneer by stripping away an honor extended to a -- to another pioneer. both are worthy of recognition.

dr. hugh latimer dryden was advisor of the national err naughtics from 1949 until nasa was created. dr. dryden made new mexico russ technical contributions to research in high speed err dynamics, fluid dynamics and acoustics and pub mished more than 100 papers in technical journals. the dryden flight research center was named after him in 1976, it's nasa's premier sight -- site for research. neil armstrong joined nacra --

naca and then nasa. he flew over 00 different models of aircraft such as the storied x-15. he transfered to astronaut status in 196 and was command pilot for the gemini 8 mission when he performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space. as spacecraft commander for apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, neil armstrong enspired millions around the world. he inspired me. and he passed away just this past august. madam speaker, it's clear that neil armstrong never sought the honor of having a nasa center named after him while he was alye. and the truth is his name is going to live long throughout history whether or not we ever name anything for him. and i expect that today we'll approve this legislation and that's fine but i hope that all members who vote to honor him today remember his testimony before the house science, space

and technology committee. i know that our chairman mr. hall will remember that during that testimony, he argued eloquently for the critical importance of giving nasa a sustainable future and a human exploration program that can once again inspire our children and humanity around the world. it seems rather extraordinary that even as we are honoring our hero, neil armstrong, that we face a situation where nasa's budget would be designated, getting the very programs that neil armstrong felt so passionately about. if the same members who vote to honor him today will commit to working in the coming months and years for those exploration goals, to those heights to which he devoted the last years of his life, we will have truly honored neil armstrong in an enduring and meaningful way. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves.

the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: madam speaker, i yield five minutes to the very capable majority whip, the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. mccarthy: thank you, madam speaker, and to the committee, thank you for your work and especially to chairman hall for his tenure on the committee and his history making here in congress. i thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 6612, to honor two great pioneers in american err naughtics and space exploration. dr. hugh dryden and astronaut neil armstrong. some of us here today can remember the pride every american felt in the summer of 1969 when we heard neil armstrong utter those famous words, that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, when he led the apollo 11 mission and landed on the moon. with this incredible trip, armstrong served as a test pilot for seven years at what is

presently called the dryden flight research center in california. armstrong acquired thousands of hours of test flying mainly in experimental jets. he was also part of a team in the early 1960's who researched how to land on the moon using a lunar landing vehicle. after the success of apollo 11, armstrong became nasa's deputy associate director for err naughtics. under his leadership, they had one of their most far-reaching successes, fly by wire, a precursor to electronically controlled flight. armstrong said in a speech, many years here were wonderful years, dryden is a most unusual place.

it's enormous curiosity, intensity and unbelievable willingness to attempt the impossible here. h.r. 6612 would rename the center in his honor, the eel a. armstrong flight research center. the bill would also honor dr. hugh tryden's contribution to aerospace engineering, some that made armstrong's achievements possible. dr. dryden was an early pioneer in err dynamics and helped create many technologies, infeuding the f-15 that launch maryland pilots as astronauts. dr. dryden passed away in 1965, just a few careers before

armstrong took that first small tep. h.r. 6612 will memorialize both men by redez egg nating the dryden resedge center as the neil a. armstrong flight research center, and rename the wen err nautical -- air nautical test range -- aeronautical test range as the hugh l. dryden test range. i ask unanimous consent that the following letters of support for my bill be enserted into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mccarthy: i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. i yield back my time. the speaker: the gentlewoman from maryland. ms. edwards: madam speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman mitigating circumstance good friend from ohio, mr. kucinich.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. kucinich: neil armstrong's voyage to the moon represented a personal heroic journey and it was also expressive of a uniquely american capability and capacity to reach higher and higher, to expand our horizons, to seek newer worlds. and to do this with a sense of wonder and in peace. may we regain that capacity through recognizing him today. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: madam speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. lamar smith, who on the third day of january,

will be the chairman of science, space, and technology for many, many years. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. smith: i thank the gentleman from texas, the chairman of the science, space, and technology committee for yielding me time. madam speaker, first i want to thank the gentleman from california, majority whip kevin mctar thi for honoring both neil armstrong and nasa deputy administrator hugh dryden in this bill. not many know the relationship between these two men. dryden was the master mind behind the x-15 plane and neil armstrong was the one who flew the space craffle -- spacecraft dryden envisioned. hugh dryden was engineer and program manager for the spacecraft which neil armstrong flew seven times. while everyone know neil armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon not many

people know hugh dryden's role. the soviets launched the first satellite, sputnik, in 1957 and cosmonaut yuri gargaren became the first person in space in 1961. president kennedy was looking for a way to demonstrate superiority over the society union so he convened the national space council and asked for their best advice on how to respond to this. hugh dryden was the person in the meeting who recommended that the goal of putting a person on the moon in 10 years was achieveable and something the american people would rally behind. the rest is history. president kennedy grabbed hugh tryden's idea and addressed a joint session of congress the next month. the apollo program was the brain child of hugh dryden and neil armstrong turned that dream into reality by making that one small step for a man, one giant leap

for man kind on another world almost 230 miles away. hugh dryden was not able to see his dream become reality as he died in 1965 and unfortunately, neil armstrong passed away last august. it's important to honor both men's legacies by naming the flight research center after neil armstrong and the surrounding test range after hugh dryden. with this bill we reaffirm that america is filled with dreamers like hugh dryden and doers like neil armstrong, who working together can shoot for the moon. again, madam speaker, i want to thank congressman mccarthy for honoring their legacy which reminds us that america always needs to think about new frontiers. i yield back the balance of my time. . so much the jeement maryland. ms. edwards: i would like to inquire of mr. hall was to whether he has additional

speakers, otherwise i'm ready to close. mr. hall: no, we do not have additional speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from maryland. ms. edwards: thank you. it seems so fitting we are here today to recognize neil armstrong. i want to thank mr. hall both for his leadership of our science committee and the opportunity that we have had to work together. he is a good friend. i look forward to working with our new chairman, mr. smith, in the next congress. it seems we will have an opportunity to work on the things that neil armstrong believed in and felt so passionately about, about making sure that the united states remains at the top of the leaderboard when it comes to space exploration. making certain as he expressed in our committee that nasa he remains at the forefront of our technological -- technology development, research, capacity. there are few of us who will get to be or to know what neil armstrong saw and knew.

there are few of us, though we want to, who will be able to see the universe in the kind of way that neil armstrong did, but what we do know is that we have the ability here in this congress and in future congresses to actually preserve what it is that we do in space and how we use technology, and that we build on the great promise of hugh dryden and neil armstrong and our great capacity as a nation for research and development and technology. i know that our leaders will be committed to preserving the names of these great heroes in the work that we do in the future. for our children and for generations to come. it also seems very fitting that in honoring neil armstrong, and i would just say personally, there are few opportunities here in the congress where you feel like you really get to both touch the past and look to the future, and for me that came in just being able to meet and talk

with neil armstrong when he he came before our committee, mr. chairman. i will say having watched all those missions as a little girl sitting in front of a black and white television in a classroom, seeing the promise and capacity of our universe and scientific endeavors and creation, that neil armstrong was at the center of that. i'm pleased we are able to honor him today, but i hope that we can honor him and his legacy in the future with the work that we do to preserve the great work that's done at the national aeronautics and space administration for all of our future generations. to the chairman, i know that, to chairman hall, that neil armstrong was a special friend of his as well, and quite an inspiration, but an inspiration for generations. so it gives me great pleasure to be able to present h.r. 6612 in

naming -- renaming the dryden research center as the neil a. armstrong center, and i look forward to continuing to support the great work of the national aeronautics and space administration. with that i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: madam speaker, before i close i'd just like to thank jay pearson who plans to retire at the end of this year for his many, many years of service to this house. he's been very helpful to me, my staff, and other staffs. he'll be sorely missed. with that, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6612. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, -- the the gentlewoman from maryland.

ms. edwards: madam speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. flops the gentleman from alaska seek recognition? -- for what purpose does the gentleman from alaska seek recognition? mr. young: first, madam speaker, happy new year.

i urge the house move and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 443. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 443, an act to provide for the conveyance of certain property from the united states to the manilaq association located in kotzebue, alaska. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from alaska, mr. young, and the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alaska. mr. young: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. young: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. young: madam speaker, my bill, h.r. 443, directs the indian health service to transfer 15 acres of federal land in alaska to the manilaq association by warranty deed. the i.h.s. has already conveyed these lands to the association by quick claim deed. however under federal indian health laws, transferring land

by quit claim deed could preent obstacles in the future by the association. the association is a nonprofit entity that runs federal indian health service for native people in northwest alaska. the lands such to thisings legislation is currentlyly the site of a native health facility. the administration supports the transfer. i have heard no objections to this bill which passed the house over a year going 407-4 vote. the senate amendment before us today makes four small technical changes to the bill, including changing verb tenses, claring filing the time, and clarifying definition. nonare controversial and some might say even necessary. i again thank chairman upton of the energy commerce committee for allowing h.r. 443, the bill that we share jurisdiction over, to be considered on the floor today. i urge the house adopt the senate amendment and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time.

the gentleman from arizona. mr. grijalva: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. grijalva: thank you. madam speaker, we do not object to the senate amendments to h.r. 443. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from alaska. mr. young: madam speaker, i have no other speakers on this legislation. i urge the passage of the legislation and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 443. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the gentleman from arizona. mr. grijalva: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: rate, further -- pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on the motion will be postponed.

for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> madam speaker, morph the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 2076, the investigative assistance for haven't crimes act of 2011. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 207 , an act to amend title 28, united states code, to clarify the statutory authority for the long-standing practice of the department of justice of providing investigatory assist an on a request of state and local authorities with respect to certain serious haven't crimes, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from south carolina, mr. gowdy, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, each will control five minutes. -- 20 minutes.

the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. gowdy: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the matter currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gowdy: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gowdy: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, violent crimes, especially mass killings, are often unpredictable and impulsive. the venues are random, the jurisdictions where these crimes take place include smallest of towns, the least likely places for crimes of this magnitude, and when we were drafting this bill months ago, madam speaker, of course we had hoped against hope it would not be needed. not so soon at least. we hoped it would sit on the sidelines available but unused. sadly this is not the culture we live in, madam speaker. we have recently witnessed

another example of the depth to which the human condition can sink. in times like these when state and local resources are stretched, federal law enforcement is ready, willing, and able to assist, indeed they do assist, but they do so without statutory coverage. the manner and method of the assistance, madam speaker, is vast and varied. most local police departments do not have criminal profilers. they may not have quick access to a world class forensic lab or grand jury subpoenas or the experience that comes from handling similar investigations in the past. law enforcement, madam speaker, is a particularly close n.i.t. community with state, local -- close knit community with state, local, working under difficult circumstances to prevent crimes or quickly investigate and apprehend afterwards those who commit such crimes. madam speaker, i have seen in my own prior career in south

carolina the willingness of federal law enforcement to assist in kidnappings, murders,arson, and robberies. tragically our country has seen the need for federal law enforcement to assist in places as disparate as movie theaters, college campuses, and even elementary schools. federal law enforcement agencies and officers do not currently have specific statutory authority to assist in the investigations of mass killings, attempted mass killings, or other violent crimes that occur. federal law enforcement officers frequently receive emergency request for such assistance from state and local law enforcement agencies and while this assistance is routinely provided, madam speaker, it is possible that federal officers who provide such assistance could be found to be acting outside their scope of employment. to correct this problem h.r. 2076 specifically allows certain

federal agents to provide state and local law enforcement with the assistance requested when the violent act does not otherwise appear to violate federal law. these federal agents come from agencies such as the f.b.i., d.e.a., a.t.f., marshal, secret service, and i.c.e. while we hope and pray madam speaker and take affirmative steps to prevent such similar crimes in the future, this bill ensures that state and local police now can at least request the assistance of federal law enforcement officers in similar situations and do so fully covered by the law. this bill allows federal law enforcement officers to provide an emergency response to critical situations where violent crimes have occurred, or may remain in progress. this bill is not an expansion, madam speaker, of federal authority and does not expand the jurisdiction of any federal law enforcement agency in any manner whatsoever. any law enforcement assistance must be requested by state or

local authority and agreed to by the federal authorities. last year, madam speaker, this bill passed the judiciary committee in the house with broad bipartisan support. earlier this month the senate passed by unanimous consent this bill. this bill is supported by the f.b.i. agents association and federal law enforcement officers association. madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to concur in the senate's amendment to this bill so that it may be sent to the president for his signature. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: madam speaker, i rise in support of the senate amendment to h.r. 2076. the house originally passed this bill in september of 2001 by an overwhelming vote. h.r. 2076 gives the attorney general and the secretary of homeland security the specific statutory authority to respond to requests from state and local law enforcement agencies for

assistance in investigation of violent acts and shootings occurring in public places and in the investigation of mass killings and attempted mass killings. the house passed version of the bill only applied to the f.b.i. in he providing assistance. the senate amended the bill to include all d.o.j. and department of homeland security law enforcement agencies. . agencies will be able to provide assistance as would the department of homeland security's law enforcement agencies, the secret service and immigration and customs enforcement, if requested by local and state law enforcement agencies. federal agencies do not currently have the specific statutory authority to investigate in mass killings or attempted mass killings occurring in venues such as schools, colleges, universities,

nonpublic malls or other places. while the f.b.i. continues to receive requests for such assistance from state and local government and the f.b.i. often does assist in such circumstances, there is presently technically no federal statute that directly provides for them to assist in such requests. this bill would allow them to provide assistance even when the violent act doesn't technically violate federal law. unfortunately, due to the tragic shooting of 0 students and six teachers in newtown, connecticut this bill is timely. we should pass the bill today so the president can sign it into law. while we must take steps to investigate such ince depts,

it's even more critical to prevent them occurring in the first place prosm posals to -- proposals to do that include gun safety and legislation like the youth promise act to provide comprehensive juvenile justice initialtives or the juvenile justice block grant or the campus safety act, all pending, as well as increased funding for mental health services and school counselors. we simply must do all we can to protect our citizens in these proposal -- and these proposals must be enacted as soon as possible. with respect to h.r. 2076, the bill reports today, i want to commend the gentleman from south carolina, mr. gowdy, for his leadership in this bill and urge my colleagues to support the senate amendment to h.r. 2076 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from south carolina. mr. gowdy: in conclusion, i want to take this one final opportunity to thank chairman

smith for his leadership not just on this particular bill but his leadership throughout the two-year tenure he was chearm of the judiciary. mr. scott: i ask unanimous consent to reclaim my time. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? mr. gowdy: no, ma'am. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. does the gentleman from south carolina wish to finish speaking? mr. gowdy: i continue to reserve and reserve the right to perhaps finish at the end. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker, i apologize. i was not aware i had additional speakers. i yield such time as he may consume to the former chair of the judiciary committee, the ranking member from michigan, mr. conyers. the speaker pro tempore: how much time does the gentleman -- mr. scott: such time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. conyers: thank you, madam speaker. i am quick to thank the former chairman of the subcommittee on

crime, bobby scott of virginia, and of course mr. trey gowdy of south carolina for his very great contribution to h.r. 2076. an amendment that the house originally passed on -- in 2011 by a vote of 358-9. h.r. 2076 gives the attorney general and secretary of homeland security the specific statutory authority to respond to requests from state and local law enforcement agencies for assistance in the investigation of violent acts and shootings occurring in public places and in the investigations of mass

killings and attempted mass killings. it's very appropriate, of course, under the recent circumstances that both of the leaders on both sides of the aisle have mentioned so this bill unfortunately due to the tragic shooting in newtown, the considering of this bill is appropriately timely. of course we should pass the bill today so that the president may sign it into law but it is unfortunate that we're not also sending the president an even more urgently needed legislation to protect us from gun violence and while we must take steps to assist in the investigation of such incidents, it is critical

that we prevent them from occurring in the first place. we're simply not doing all we can do to protect our citizens but we celebrate that we have come this far. and so i urge my colleagues to support the senate amendment to h.r. 2076 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: madam speaker. i yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from texas. the speaker pro tempore: will the gentleman suspend? does the gentleman from south carolina have other speakers? mr. gowdy: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for -- mr. scott: such time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized.

ms. jackson lee: first of all, i want to thank mr. gowdy for the attentiveness to this legislation and shepherding it from the senate and accepting the senate amendment. i am on homeland security and i believe that the amendment that has been povided under this legislation originally h.r. 2076 will expand your intent and i believe that you believe it as well. i think it's very important to emphasize that we now have extra investigatory skills and techniques and a collaborative effort between homeland security personnel and those in the department of justice to be utilized by the homeland security secretary and the attorney general. helping to investigate violent acts or shootings that occur in venn injures such as schools,

colleges, universities, nonfederal office buildings and other places of public use. this includes mass killings, three or more killings in a single incident. we all recognize the tragedy of newtown but there are tragedies that have faced us over the last couple of years. the president indicated newtown was the worst day of his administration but compounded was the aurora kill the killings in the sikh temple and the acts of heinous murder that occurred in houston, texas where a mother and her daughter were murdered on christmas eve and so there are times when the local authorities need immediate assistance, or the time then we had a child predator, although this legislation may not define

violent acts as such, i can tell you that the community felt violated when a number of children were preyed upon and through the kind n and the understanding of the local f.b.i. office in houston and my persistence and the difficulty of coordinating with -- coordinating with local authorities because of the sort of uncomfortableness of the involvement of the federal government, we overcame that and they participated and shortly thereafter the predator was captured. children are impacted and that is why this legislation is enormously important. i also want to take note of the fact that the gentleman from south carolina is right. the f.b.i. did not have statutory authority to assist in the investigation, mass killings or other violent crime that occurred in other places such as schools and universities.

we now have put forward this federal law. enge that is enormously important and again i congratulate this -- passage of this legislation an i'm particularly sensitive to the utilization of the swat team. i'll take a moment just to deviate, to be able to thank my chairman of the committee and the ranking member and the ranking member on the prime subcommittee for their commitment and interest in children. today we were going to fufert proceed with our commitment to children. that is in the juvenile accountability block grant. but my fight will continue in the next term and i want to thank you, mr. smith, for understanding that the practical it's a pects of what we were doing was to save children. and to prevent a youngster like

this from not having a juvenile system that they could in fact have access to. it plays into some of what mr. gowdy is speaking about but it plays at an earlier stage. that is to ensure that there are court systems, there are mental health systems, there are a number of other systems that our juveniles can have access to that are intervention, that in fact we can take note of the fact that yufles are bullies, that there's cyberbullying. but i believe it's important to stand to fight for another day. as we support the legislation for mr. gowdy, i want to thank all of those who stood crying in a hearing in houston, texas, in the fall of 2010, fighting about whether or not this federal government would make a statement, a positive statement about resources to help with bullying and intervention of such and do it in a way that

could be effectively utilized. i think we came up with that in h.r. 6019, in all the compromise we came about and frankly, sometimes the english rang wadge is not perfect and people cannot understand what we are trying to do. but to come back to this legislation, h.r. 2076 will be a -- sitting in for the judiciary committee and in 2013 i look forward to working with my colleagues on the re-authorization on the juvenile accountability block grant re-authorization so that critical issues such as youth violence, juvenile crime prevention, mental health screening and treatments among others will be in place. if we have a situation where we authorize what my original bill h.r. 83, offered to do, i'll be right there being enthusiastic. if we have to find a common place of compromise, i'll be there as well because that is

what we are here to do, to work on behalf of the american people and the children that we represent. so it is important to note that we are doing something good in the judiciary committee, i hope we'll have the opportunity to work together more closely in 2013 and be able to do the good work that many of us have advocated and worked with a number of groups and families who have been victims without the right kind of resources of which we were trying to implement. with that, i want to submit into the record a number of documents on my remarks that i have just made and i ask my colleagues to support the legislation of mr. gowdy and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman -- does the gentleman from south carolina continue to reserve?

mr. gowdy: yes, ma'am. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: thank you, madam speaker. i have no further speakers, i would like to again compliment the gentleman from south carolina for his leadership on this. a lot of communities will benefit and i thank him for that work. i urge my colleagues to support the legislation and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from south carolina. mr. gowdy: madam speaker in conclusion and i'm sure on behalf of all my colleagues i want to thank the women and men in law enforcement for their service, their sacrifice, their willingness to do jobs that either we cannot do or will not do. i want to to thank mr. smith for his leadership for the last two years and i want to thank the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, for his collegiality and friendship. and with that, i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and concur in senate amendments to h.r. 2076? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3

being in the affirmative -- the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: madam speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas rise? >> madam speaker, i rise -- move to suspend the rules and pass the bill s. 3666. the speaker pro tempore: clorpt the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3666, an act to amend the animal welfare act to mod if i the definition of exhibit tore. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from arkansas, mr. crawford, and the gentleman from

california, mr. costa, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from arkansas. mr. crawford: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in support of the bill s. 3666 and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. crawford: thank you, madam speaker. s. 3666 is a simple regulatory relief measure which has been proposed to modify the definition of the term exhibit tore under the -- compib tore -- exhibitor under the animal welfare act. i urge it be passed by the house of representatives, it has been passed by the senate. the legislation will provide relief pet eveners who might make a few dollars from their pets. this might be an issue is in hiring somebody to serve as an extra in a film. these are people who appear in background film scenes and work on the film for a couple hours at a time or day or two at the most. if that person has their pet with them during filming, the current interpretation of the animal welfare act is the extra

would be designated an animal exhibitor under the law and must be licensed, inspected, and comply with all the record keeping requirements of the act. this was not what the law intended nor is the administration of such a requirement a necessary or useful allocation of scarce federal resources. the federal animal welfare act was intended to regulate business not private citizens. there are many examples across the government of regulatory overreach while i regret we have not been able to address all those in the 1 is itth -- 112th congress, certainly this is one we can agree needs fixing and should. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. costa: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. costa: i want to thank the gentleman from arkansas for his efforts in -- with our colleagues in the senate to ps this measure, senate bill 3666. as was stated, this is a measure

that involves common sense and attempts to relieve burdensome paperwork that, frankly, has no place under the current scheme in which movies are made in this country that require, without the relief of this measure, them to be included under the national american animal welfare act. as was stated, movies and television shows often use animals has extras. we are used to see that. it's part of the way these movies are made. this bill amends the animal welfare act to clarify thawhen pets are owned by individual citizens who are acting in that movie or in that television show, that they should not be regulated by the u.s. department of agriculture when it comes to these animals being used as

extras in films. these animals should not be captured under the animal welfare act regulations. the usda as we know is spread it is using scarce resources to regulate personal pets that now isequired under this law -- der the curnt lawhathis legislation will relievthat buen from. we think that the usda should focus its resources on more cost-effective measures rather than regulating individual personal pets that are used in these movies or television shows as the term of art is, animal actors, or animals that play a key movie or television role will not be affected by this legislation. they will continue to be regulated by the animal welfare act. so this does, as i said on the outset, is a common sense

regulatory relief of burdensome paperwork. i would ask my colleagues to support this measure. s. 3666p is a, i think, a well thought out measure. with that, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from arkansas. mr. crawford: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. crawford: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. costa: we have no more speakers. i want to thank again the gentleman from arkansas and the committee for their efforts on this measure and ask their support for the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield back. does the gentleman yield back? mr. costa: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas. mr. crawford: i thank the gentleman from california. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is, will the house

suspend the rules and pass senate 3666. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the gentleman from arkansas. mr. crawford: i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from utah rise? >> i move that the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 66364. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6364 an act to establish a commission the to assure suitable observance of the sen and in tal of world war i, to provide for designation of memorials to the service of members of the united states armed forces in world war i, and

purpose. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from utah, mr. chaffetz, and the gentlewoman from district of columbia, ms. norton, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from utah. mr. chaffetz: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. chaffetz: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. chaffetz: thank you, madam speaker. at this time i'd like to yield such time as he may consume to the original sponsor of this bill, the gentleman from texas, mr. poe. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i thank the gentleman from utah for yielding. and his support on this legislation. and also the gentlewoman from district of columbia. madam speaker, they said that world war i would be the war to

end all wars, but it wasn't. it was a world war, it encompassed the entire globe and most of the countries in the world. the war started in 1914, the united states entered in april of 1917. the united states entered the war for three main reasons. one, the sinking of the british liner, lusitania, and 128 americans being killed in that submarine attack. and then seven u.s. merchant marine ships were sunk by german submarines when they had unconditional rights to sink any ship on the high seas, according to the german government. and the third thing was when the germans sent the zimmerman tell gram to mexico. madam speaker, a lot of americans don't know what that was, but basically the germans were telling the country of mexico if they would enter the war on the side of germany, the central powers, they would help mexico invade the united states and take the states of texas,

new mexico, and arizona and give them to the country of mexico. so the united states entered the war on april 7, 1917. h.r. 3159 would create a commission to commemorate the 1th00 anniversary of world war i. over 116,000 americans died in world war i. that's more than in korea, vietnam, and both iraq wars and afghanistan combined. madam speaker, to my left is a photograph of american doughboys as they were called because of the color of their uniform, going over out of a trench over the top as it was called in world war i. primarily teenagers like most of our wars. the teenagers go to fight those wars. and they are leaving the trench going into what is called no man's land. those americans served along with their allies in world war ii. two u.s. presidents served in world war i, harry truman, dwight eisenhower. and if world war ii veterans

were known as the greatest generation, then world war i veterans should be known as the selfless generation. after all these world war i veterans, the ones that survived, were the fathers of the greatest generation. america's last doughboy was frank buckles, he died on february 26, 2011. he was 110 years of age. i got to know frank buckles when he came to the united states capitol on some legislation that i will talk about momentary. frank buckles in world war i was too young to join, nobody would let him in. he went from recruiter to recruiter, he was 16. he might have been 15, but he lied about his age and finally convinced an army recruiter to take him in. he joined the doughboys and went over there, that song that george cohen wrote talking about the americans that wouldn't come back until it's over, over there. he drove an ambulance in world

war i helping rescue other doughboys that were wounded out here in no man's land and some that had died, bringing them back behind the lines. after the great war was over with, he was in the philippines when world war ii started. and sure enough he's captured by the japanese. frank buckles was held in a prisoner of war camp by the japanese for 3 1/2 years and was finally released when americans liberated the philippines. after the war he moved to west virginia and worked on the farm until he was 106 driving the tractor. frank buckles, the last surviving doughboy, lived half of our nation's history. so today we have an opportunity to remember frank buckles, these doughboys, other doughboys, and all those great americans who fought for america 100 years ago . the bill steashes a commission to commemorate the centennial of world war i. the commission will plan programs and activities to

commemorate the 100th anniversary of that great war. time is short. the centennial for the start of world war 1 is in 2014 and many of our allies have already started planning different events. it must be noted that no federal funds will be spent for this commission. they have to raise their own money from private funds. madam speaker, in the last century there were four great wars for americans to participate in. we have built memorials on the mall for all of them except one. we built a memorial for the vietnam veterans. the korean veterans, world war ii veterans. but there is no memorial on the mall for all of those doughboys that served in world war i. there is a d.c. memorial that recognizes and honors the d.c. soldiers and sailors that served in world war i, but there is no great memorial for all that served throughout the united states. and that's where i met frank

buckles. he came to washington, d.c., as a guest of many of our senators and it was his hope and really one of his dying wishes that we would build, that congress would authorize the building of a memorial on the mall for all of those that serve in the great world war i. the original bill that passed this house by unanimous vote had that memorial in the bill. it went to the senate and now we have only the commission. so it's my intent to re- authorize or reoffer that bill in our next session of congress, and i would encourage the commission to consider this building of a memorial on the mall in their commemoration. there would be no better way to commemorate these brave americans than to honor them as a memorial on the mall. when one of our warriors die, madam speaker, for our country, they become a casualty of war. but the worst casualty of war is to be forgotten. so i hope we would build that

memorial on the mall. but now let's pass this bill to commemorate them and honor them with this commission. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the district of columbia. ms. norton: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. norton: madam speaker, i rise in support of this important legislation. h.r. 6364 establishes a commission to ensure that there is suitable observation of the centennial of world war i. this is a fitting tribute to all service members who valiantly fought in all theaters of world war i. the commission establishes and leaves ample time for spropet commemorative works events tribute before the 100th anniversary of the war in 2014. i would like to thank my colleagues but especially representative ted poe who has representative ted poe who has been